Addiction Recovery Apps for Success

In this technologically advanced and modern society, where people are often glued to their phones and computers, it is no surprise that more and more people in recovery are turning to apps to help support their efforts. There are countless addiction recovery apps out there, and of course, some are better than others, but many people report that when they find one that they like, it’s almost like having a sponsor or a support group in their pocket! There are apps that offer readings on sobriety and motivational messages of support when you need them, there are apps that show you how long you have been sober to help keep your motivation going, and there are apps that are an online community of people in recovery just like you. Many are combinations of all these things. Whether you are someone who lives far from strong and frequent support systems, or are simply just someone who likes to play with his or her phone, then apps for addiction recovery may just be a wonderful thing for your journey.

Available Apps for Addiction Recovery

Check out this list of apps we complied for you and try a bunch until you come across a few you find great. However, be careful, too; we all know that social media and phone use in particular can be highly addictive, so don’t waste all your time looking at a screen. Get outside, make art, meditate, and spend time with friends, too. Addiction recovery apps are supposed to be a support to you – not take up too much of your time!

Sober Grid – This three-year-old app is extremely popular! Sober Grid is special and unique because it provides a social media platform specifically for people in recovery. It’s free to download (premium features are $3.99) and its available on both iOS and Android. Once downloaded, users enable GPS location, and they can instantly find other sober people nearby. They can communicate through the app, or make plans to meet for even more support. There is a newsfeed, just like sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, so you can celebrate others’ successes and share your own, too. It can also help connect you with other sober people people when traveling, allowing you to make friends and find support on the road. Sober Grid currently has 130,000 users and that number is always on the rise! Sign up today.

Squirrel Recovery – Released in 2017, Squirrel Recovery is relatively new but can be very useful to people working on their recovery. This app allows users to list up to ten supportive people – friends, family members, counselors, or other trusted supporters – and create a personalized, hand-held support group. When an individual is feeling triggered and headed for a relapse, he or she can push a panic button that will reach out to the entire circle for help. Further, Squirrel Recovery tracks mood and level of desire to use, and notes trends that happen over time, and can help to alert the user and his or her circle to weakness when the stakes are high. Unfortunately, this app is only available on Android for now, but an iPhone version is in the works. It is free to download.

recoveryBox – recoveryBox is only available for iPhone and other Mac products, and it is $1.99 to download, but it is a great deal for all you get with this app. This app has been around a while but got a major upgrade in 2015, and since then, the creators have been updating it often. Users customize a list of behaviors they want to track, and then their success at following those behaviors are rewarded (or punished) with a green, yellow, and red light system. This is a great app for teaching accountability and for helping users to identify their triggers and how to avoid them. By tracking triggers and their level of intensity, the goal is to avoid those triggers in the future, thereby helping to ensure that the user stays clean and sober. This app is unique and different, but many users find it to be extremely helpful to their recovery.

iQuitApp – Available free for iPhone as well as Android, this app can be helpful for anyone trying to quit anything. The developers say it has been used for a wide variety of addictions including smoking, gambling, drugs, eating, drinking, and shopping. The concept is simple; this app allows you to track the amount of time since you last used or engaged in an activity. You set a time or financial savings goal, and the app lets you know when you have reached it. This app, and others like it, can be a great motivator in times of weakness, and even in times of strength, too!

Talkspace – The Talkspace app is a great new innovation in counseling and therapy as it puts an affordable, available licensed therapist right in your pocket and at your fingertips. Users communicate with counselors through text on their phone or computer, and contact is unlimited. Although this service only began in 2012, it currently has over 500,000 users and 1,000 therapists on board. Initially, users answer a few questions which can help to match them with a specific therapist for ongoing help; there are many therapists involved with the site that specialize in addiction recovery.

These are just a few of the many addiction recovery apps that are available to all. Most cost nothing initially and are worth checking out to see if you like them, and then if you do, premium add-ons are available. Each of these can help to support your recovery by connecting you with likeminded folks, keeping you in touch with people who care about you in times of need, helping you to avoid triggers, assisting you in keeping motivation high, and allowing you to connect with on-call therapists when needed. Try them out, and see if they can help you, too!